My Childhood Stamp Collection

I visited my parents' house last month and while I was there, I rediscovered my stamp collection that I saved from when I was a little kid. I explained to Nick that instead of just cutting the stamps out from envelopes, I soaked them in water to dissolve away the adhesive so I could peel off the envelope backing and get just the stamp by itself; then I'd let the stamp dry flat before putting it in my special album for displaying stamps. He thought that was pretty hardcore.

I know my stamp collection doesn't have any actual value from a stamp collecting perspective because none of the stamps are in original pristine condition. They've all been used and have all been marked by the postal services in the mailing process. But as a kid, I didn't care so much about the value of the collection as the idea that these stamps represented places all over the world and journeyed to me from countries that I might never visit in my lifetime. I think the stamps look pretty together even though they've been marked.

What do kids collect nowadays? Are sticker and stamp collections too old school for newer generations?